86 Street
R62A1 train arriving at the southbound platform
Station statistics
Address	West 86th Street & Broadway New York, New York
Borough	Manhattan
Locale	Upper West Side
Coordinates	40°47′18″N73°58′35″W / 40.7883°N 73.9764°W /40.7883; -73.9764
Division	A (IRT)[1]
Line	IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line
Services	1  (all times) ​  2  (late nights)
Transit	NYCT Bus:M86 SBS,M104[2]
Structure	Underground
Platforms	2side platforms
Tracks	4
Other information
Opened	October 27, 1904; 121 years ago (1904-10-27)[3]
Traffic
2024	3,715,031[4]  6.7%
Rank	86 out of 423[4]
Services Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 96th Street 1  ​2  towardVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street Local 79th Street 1  ​2  towardSouth Ferry does not stop here
Non-revenue services and lines Preceding station New York City Subway Following station 91st Street closed no service
Location Show map of New York City Subway Show map of New York City Show map of New York
Track layout Legend to96th Street to79th Street
Street map
Station service legend Symbol Description Stops all times Stops late nights only

The86th Street station is a localstation on theIRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line of theNew York City Subway. Located at the intersection of West86th Street andBroadway on theUpper West Side ofManhattan, it is served by the1 train at all times and the2 train during late nights.

The 86th Street station was constructed for theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) as part of thecity's first subway line, which was approved in 1900. Construction of the line segment that includes the 86th Street station began on August 22 of the same year. The station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway. The station's platforms have been lengthened since opening.

The 86th Street station contains twoside platforms and four tracks; express trains use the inner two tracks to bypass the station. The station was built with tile and mosaic decorations, although the platform extensions contain a cinder block design. The platforms contain exits to 86th Street and Broadway and are not connected to each other withinfare control.

Planning for asubway line inNew York City dates to 1864.^[5]: 21 However, development of what would become thecity's first subway line did not start until 1894, when theNew York State Legislature passed the Rapid Transit Act.^{[5]: 139–140} The subway plans were drawn up by a team of engineers led byWilliam Barclay Parsons, the Rapid Transit Commission's chief engineer. It called for a subway line fromNew York City Hall inlower Manhattan to theUpper West Side, where two branches would lead north intothe Bronx.^[6]: 3 A plan was formally adopted in 1897,^[5]: 148 and all legal conflicts concerning the route alignment were resolved near the end of 1899.^[5]: 161

The Rapid Transit Construction Company, organized byJohn B. McDonald and funded byAugust Belmont Jr., signed the initial Contract 1 with the Rapid Transit Commission in February 1900,^[7] under which it would construct the subway and maintain a 50-year operating lease from the opening of the line.^[5]: 165 In 1901, the firm ofHeins & LaFarge was hired to design the underground stations.^[6]: 4 Belmont incorporated theInterborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT) in April 1902 to operate the subway.^[5]: 182

The 86th Street station was constructed as part of the IRT's West Side Line (now theBroadway–Seventh Avenue Line) from 82nd Street to 104th Street, for which work had begun on August 22, 1900. Work for that section had been awarded to William Bradley.^[7] By late 1903, the subway was nearly complete, but theIRT Powerhouse and the system'selectrical substations were still under construction, delaying the system's opening.^{[5]: 186 [8]} The 86th Street station opened on October 27, 1904, as one of the original 28 stations of the New York City Subway fromCity Hall to145th Street on the West Side Branch.^{[3][5]: 186}

After the first subway line was completed in 1908,^[9] the station was served by local trains along both the West Side (now the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line toVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street) and East Side (now theLenox Avenue Line). West Side local trains had their southern terminus at City Hall during rush hours andSouth Ferry at other times, and had their northern terminus at 242nd Street. East Side local trains ran from City Hall toLenox Avenue (145th Street).^[10]

To address overcrowding, in 1909, theNew York Public Service Commission proposed lengthening the platforms at stations along the original IRT subway.^[11]: 168 As part of a modification to the IRT's construction contracts made on January 18, 1910, the company was to lengthen station platforms to accommodate ten-car express and six-car local trains. In addition to $1.5 million (equivalent to $50.6 million in 2024) spent on platform lengthening, $500,000 (equivalent to $16.9 million in 2024) was spent on building additional entrances and exits. It was anticipated that these improvements would increase capacity by 25 percent.^[12]: 15 Platforms at local stations, such as the 86th Street station, were lengthened by between 20 and 30 feet (6.1 and 9.1 m). Both platforms were extended to the north and south.^[12]: 111 Six-car local trains began operating in October 1910.^[11]: 168 The Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line opened south ofTimes Square–42nd Street in 1918, and the original line was divided into an H-shaped system. The original subway north of Times Square thus became part of the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line, and all local trains were sent to South Ferry.^[13]

In December 1922, the Transit Commission approved a $3 million project to lengthen platforms at 14 local stations along the original IRT line, including 86th Street and five other stations on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line. Platform lengths at these stations would be increased from 225 to 436 feet (69 to 133 m).^[14][15] The commission postponed the platform-lengthening project in September 1923, at which point the cost had risen to $5.6 million.^[16][17] In 1927, an additional staircase was constructed from the uptown platform to the northeastern corner of 86th Street and Broadway by Patteli & Wilson for $25,300.^[18][19] In 1932, the entrance at the southeastern corner of 86th Street and Broadway was relocated from the easterly curb of Broadway to the southern building line of 86th Street. The new entrance did not have a kiosk.^[20]

The city government took over the IRT's operations on June 12, 1940.^[21][22] The IRT routes were given numbered designations in 1948 with the introduction of"R-type" rolling stock, which containedrollsigns with numbered designations for each service.^[23] The Broadway route to 242nd Street became known as the1 and the Lenox Avenue route as the3.^[24]

The original IRT stations north of Times Square could barely fit local trains of five or six cars depending on the configuration of the trains. Stations on the line from50th Street to96th Street, including this station but excluding the91st Street station, had their platforms extended in the 1950s to accommodate ten-car trains as part of a $100 million rebuilding program.^[25] The contract to extend the platforms at 79th Street and 86th Street was awarded to Delma Engineering Corporation for $1,867,705 in 1957 (equivalent to $20,910,000 in 2024).^[26] The platform extensions at the local stations were completed by early 1958.^[25] As part of the contract to extend the platform at this station, additional entrances were constructed.^[27]

Once the project was completed, all 1 trains became local and all 2 and 3 trains became express, and eight-car local trains began operation. Increased and lengthened service was implemented during peak hours on the 1 train on February 6, 1959.^[28] Due to the lengthening of the platforms at 86th Street and 96th Street, the intermediate 91st Street station was closed on February 2, 1959, because it was too close to the other two stations.^[29][25]

In 1985, art and mosaics were installed in the station for $200,000 (equivalent to $585,000 in 2024). The cost was covered by Haines, and was done as part of the construction of The Bromely at 85th Street and Broadway. The following year, the entrance to the southwestern corner of 87th Street and Broadway was relocated into a building, The Boulevard at 246 West 87th Street. The $1,270,000 cost of the project (equivalent to $3,713,000 in 2024) was borne by the developer,Ian Bruce Eichner. The entrance was constructed to supplant public infrastructure improvements required by the New York City Housing Quality Program for the construction of The Boulevard, which in turn allowed the developer to increase the height of the development.^[30][31]

In April 1988,^[32] theNew York City Transit Authority unveiled plans to speed up service on the Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line through the implementation of askip-stop service: the9 train.^[33] When skip-stop service started in 1989, it was only implemented north of137th Street–City College on weekdays, and 86th Street was served by both the 1 and the 9.^[34][35][36] Skip-stop service ended on May 27, 2005, as a result of a decrease in the number of riders who benefited.^[37][38]

Original wall decorations

Ground	Street level	Exit/entrance
Platform level	Side platform
	Northbound local	← towardVan Cortlandt Park–242nd Street(96th Street (no service to91st Street)) ← towardWakefield–241st Street late nights(96th Street (no service to91st Street))
	Northbound express	← do not stop here
	Southbound express	→ do not stop here →
	Southbound local	→ towardSouth Ferry(79th Street) → → towardFlatbush Avenue–Brooklyn College late nights(79th Street) →
	Side platform

Like other local stations, 86th Street has four tracks and twoside platforms.^[39] The station is served by the1 at all times^[40] and by the2 during late nights;^[41] the center express tracks are used by the 2 train during daytime hours and the3 train at all times.^[41][42] The station is between96th Street to the north and79th Street to the south.^[43] The platforms were originally 200 feet (61 m) long, like at other local stations on the original IRT,^{[6]: 4 [44]: 8} but as a result of the 1958–1959 platform extension, became 520 feet (160 m) long.^[25]

As with other stations built as part of the original IRT, the station was constructed using acut-and-cover method.^[45]: 237 The tunnel is covered by a U-shaped trough that contains utility pipes and wires. The bottom of this trough contains afoundation ofconcrete no less than 4 inches (100 mm) thick.^[44]: 9 Each platform consists of 3-inch-thick (7.6 cm) concrete slabs, beneath which are drainage basins. The original platforms contain circular, cast-ironDoric-style columns spaced every 15 feet (4.6 m), while the platform extensions containI-beam columns. Additional columns between the tracks, spaced every 5 feet (1.5 m), support thejack-arched concrete station roofs.^{[6]: 4 [44]: 9} There is a 1-inch (25 mm) gap between the trough wall and the platform walls, which are made of 4-inch (100 mm)-thick brick covered over by a tiled finish.^[44]: 9

This station retains original mosaic and terracotta wall reliefs, consisting of purple characters surrounded by yellow and blue tiles. The tiledpilasters on the side walls are interrupted by tiled rectangles, as well as motifs of little squares and semicircles.^[46] The decorations also includecornucopia designs with the number "86". There are also a few "Men" and "Women" relief signs for now-defunct restrooms.^[44]: 37 The mosaic tiles at all original IRT stations were manufactured by the American Encaustic Tile Company, which subcontracted the installations at each station.^[44]: 31 The decorative work was performed by tile contractor Alfred Boote Company and faience contractor Rookwood Pottery Company.^[44]: 37 The ceilings of the original platforms and fare control areas contain plaster molding.^[44]: 10 At the northern part of the station, where the platforms have been extended, the walls have cream-colored tiles with a pink trim line and black "86th ST" written on them at regular intervals.^[47]

The 86th Street station has artwork installed in 1989 entitledWestside Views byNitza Tufiño. The artists are students ofManhattan Community Board 7 and the Grosvernor House. Scenes include the72nd Street station, medians on Broadway,New York City Fire Department, children at play,Ida Straus memorial inStraus Park, boats at the79th Street Boat Basin, Buddhist vendors onChurch Street, and aNew York City Bus. The station also has a poem entitledWest Side Views by student Pedro Pieti.^[48]Westside Views is one of two works Tufiño made for MTA Arts & Design; the other,Neo-Boriken – a solo effort – can be found at103rd Street on theIRT Lexington Avenue Line.^[49]

Allfare control areas are on platform level and there are no crossovers or crossunders. The centers of the northbound and southbound platforms each have a fare control area with aturnstile bank and token booth, although the northbound token booth is closed to the public.^[50] The northbound platform's fare control area contains stairs to the northeast and southeast corners of West 86th Street and Broadway, while the southbound platform's fare control area here contains stairs to the northwest and southwest corners of the same intersection.^[51]

The southbound platform has another fare control near the north end. A bank of three turnstiles lead to a token booth that is only staffed during rush hours. A staircase goes up to an alcove inside 246 West 87th Street, on the southwest corner of West 87th Street and Broadway.^[51]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to86th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line).

• nycsubway.org –IRT West Side Line: 86th Street
• Station Reporter –1 Train
• Forgotten NY –Original 28 – NYC's First 28 Subway Stations
• 86th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• 87th Street entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (1950s Wall Tiles)
• Platforms from Google Maps Street View (Original Wall Tiles/Mosaics)

• 1904 establishments in New York City
• Broadway (Manhattan)
• IRT Broadway–Seventh Avenue Line stations
• New York City Subway stations in Manhattan
• Railway stations in the United States opened in 1904
• Upper West Side

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